On December 18, 2011, during a CBS broadcast of the Cincinnati Bengals at the St. Louis Rams, St. Louis guard Harvey Dahl protested referee Jerome Boger's holding call against him by saying, "I know you didn't just call me for holding. That's not fuckin' holding!" It was heard over the stadium PA system through Boger's open microphone, and aired. CBS commentator Dan Dierdorf apologized for the slip, and Dahl was assessed a second penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.[9]

On April 20, 2013, during a passionate pre-game speech dedicated to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz said, "This is our fucking city."[12]FCC chairman Julius Genachowski later tweeted from the official page of the organization, saying "David Ortiz spoke from the heart at today's Red Sox game. I stand with Big Papi and the people of Boston."[13] Although 25 complaints were lodged with the FCC, no action was taken and neither Ortiz nor the Boston Red Sox were fined for using the expletive.[14]

In a ruling issued April 28, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fleeting expletive rule.[19] The court reversed a lower court ruling in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York which found in favor of Fox Television that the FCC had not properly followed procedures in creating the rule. In the 5-4 ruling by Justice Antonin Scalia, "the court did not definitively settle the First Amendment implications of allowing a federal agency to censor broadcasts."[20] Instead the court suggested the First Amendment issue should be raised in a Federal Appeals Court.

In a ruling announced July 13, 2010, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC indecency policy on fleeting expletives. Calling it "unconstitutionally vague", the unanimous three judge panel found the policy could infringe upon the constitutionally protected First Amendmentfreedom of speech. According to the panel, the policy "created a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives at issue here", in part due to a lack of guidance on what content is considered offensive.[21]

Fox released a statement stating, "We have always felt that the government's position on fleeting expletives was unconstitutional," and, "While we will continue to strive to eliminate expletives from live broadcasts, the inherent challenges broadcasters face with live television, coupled with the human element required for monitoring, must allow for the unfortunate isolated instances where inappropriate language slips through."[22]

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski indicated the commission will be "reviewing the court's decision in light of our commitment to protect children, empower parents, and uphold the First Amendment."[22]

In June 2012, the Supreme Court rescinded several fines issued by the FCC regarding indecent content, including the Fox case stemming from the 2002 Billboard Music Awards. The court ruled that the FCC's change in enforcement policy to target fleeting instances of profanities and nudity on television was too vague, thus violating their rights to due process. The court did not address the policies themselves.[23][24]

^Itzkoff, Dave (September 27, 2009). "Newcomer Makes a Slip". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-28. The utterance came in a sketch, which began about 12:42 a.m. on Sunday, in which Ms. Slate played the hard-living host of 'Biker Chick Chat' who interviews similarly tough-talking women.